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Conflict of the Pearian
The Conflict of the Pearian referred to the campaign initiated by the Third Order and the Sith Order to supplant the Galactic Republic for control over the galaxy. The coup lasted for ten years and mainly included traces to the fabled Pearian, who eventually turned out to be Kristen. The operation was smooth and virtually silent, and the existence of the Third Order remained private knowledge. However, the conflict led to open warfare after a brief but fateful skirmish on Der Erebolten. Prelude The rise of Xerin Hedashield In 528 BBY, the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Mutialatus, sensed that a girl named Xerin Hedashield had been born mere hours prior. Since she was a small child, Hedashield created wondrous gadgets which she usually kept to herself. It is unknown when she began her way down the wicked path, but by the time she was in junior high, she was seeking arcane and ancient lore and already scheming to create the Third Order, an organization determined to bring glory to the galaxy through her own rule, as she sought to order things according to her own judgement. Alliance with the Sith While she was in junior high, Xerin Hedashield became best friends with Vlaire, a girl who was sweet yet ambitious and loved Hedashield with a passion. Two months after she met Vlaire, Hedashield realized a boy named Hammass had developed an instant crush on her. She was initially unkind to him, but by March she befriended him and learned that, like her, she was a technical genius. It was around this time that she came into regular contact with Darth Mutialatus and told him of her plans, of a new order that she was planning to create, which she decided on the fly would be known as the Third Order. Because Hedashield could not resist linking her future organization with the Order of the Sith Lords, and Mutialatus saw her potential to amass vast resources to help them both profit, Mutialatus promised to serve her the moment she located an ideal base of operations. Der Erebolten Two months after their promises to each other, Hedashield somehow discovered a science tower on a planet called Der Erebolten and decided it would suffice for the Third Order's headquarters. That night, her boyfriend Hammass asked her out and she agreed, the two went on their first date. Hedashield woke up in the middle of the night due to thirst, where she realized that she had been holding her boyfriend's hand in slumber. Hedashield worked quietly, reprogramming the robots to serve her alone, to swear all loyalty. She reluctantly had them turn on Hammass and shoot him to ensure they were not followed, and they fled to the science tower just before sunrise. Safe in the science tower, Xerin began making her lifelong dream a reality, starting by recruiting individuals in high places, who in turn helped her recruit many officers, nobles and technologists, who all fled with her to Del Erebolten. Most of her soon-to-be followers would have likely perished while crossing this uncharted realm if it had not been for the ancient hyperspace trails blazed by a retinue of mute alien navigators that believed Hedashield's views were right and superior to those of the current Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Together, these rogues based on Del Erebolten and served Darth Mutialatus, who acted on Hedashield's orders thus creating the Third Order. While Mutialatus gave most of the orders and generally appeared to be in charge, Hedashield closely monitored him, telling him what to do and what orders to give, and essentially becoming the Supreme Leader of her organization. Xerin Hedashield also founded a relatively formal organization called the Grabbers, a band of mercenaries subordinate to the Third Order. Yaxa became an Admiral to the Order, but according to Darth Mutialatus, he was formally stripped of this rank due to his incompetent nature. Tying up loose ends Xerin, however, still attended high school while presumably operating the Third Order on the side. She also continued to hang out with Vlaire. Apparently, she attended the same high school as the Omnipotent One. When he was ill and in need of an antidote, Hedashield came to his aid. She brought him an exceptionally complex array of treatment materials that he needed. It is possible that she created them herself. This made him very fond of her. She had spent less than a week in the tower when the robots finished building her consumption speeder. Xerin drove it to the store, where it sucked out all the candy and soda and they stacked themselves neatly on the shelves inside the speeder's giant box. She drove home, undetected, as everyone in the store ran amok, having no idea what had happened. On Del Erebolten, the box implanted itself into the wall, effectively becoming her food shelf. There were only two weeks of school left, during which time Xerin made another grocery store plunder in the same city as the first. Xerin came to school wearing a colorful midriff shirt nearly every day now, since she didn't feel like changing. Every day she would wake up, gorge herself on candy, board her speeder, and park discreetly at high school. On her last day of school, she said a tearful goodbye to Vlaire and returned to her headquarters, promising to stay in touch via Holobook. After school, Hedashield returned to her headquarters, remaining secluded within its walls and rarely leaving except on special errands. This was mainly because she was aware that no one in the Third Order was genuinely loyal to her as a person, instead turning their loyalty entirely to the cause itself, making her think they could care less about what happened to her. While she found her life to be very enjoyable, she was also extremely lonely, starving for somebody's company but having no idea who to trust. She always kept an illegally modified blaster under her pillow on her bed. The conflict The conflict begins After school, Hedashield returned to her headquarters, lying low while Darth Mutialatus traveled around the galaxy. Both Supreme Leader and Dark Lord explored the Dark side of the Force extensively, studying obscure and arcane Force concepts, and consorting with terrorists who agreed to join the Third Order. Both Hedashield and Mutialatus were occasionally accompanied by two separate groups of followers. On Hedashield's orders, Mutialatus began establishing relations with various kinds of scum in the criminal underworld, including thugs and gangsters. Though Hedashield was generally even less tolerant of them than society in general, these criminals were receptive of her violent and destructive goals. Dark activity throughout the galaxy rose. In the wider galaxy, the early actions of the Third Order were almost totally unknown, and the 510s BBY were a time when the tide of social progress clashed with the entrenched social order. Despite actively collecting followers and finding her life to be quite enjoyable, Hedashield distrusted her newfound allies and remained secluded within the walls of her headquarters and rarely left except on special errands. She always kept an illegally modified blaster under her pillow on her bed. Assassination of Saint Pyro Eventually, Xerin Hedashield learned from Saint Pyro that a Pearian may appear in the galaxy at some point in the near future. Believing a Pearian would be very useful in her plans of galactic domination, Hedashield ordered Pyro's slaughter, as she hoped to destabilize St. Pyro's Center for Militarized Sciences. While Pyro's assassination was successful, she failed to end the science program, as Pyro, in his dying breaths, placed a scientist named R'ockienc in charge. Discovery of Thomas Slovak In the mix, Hedashield began seeking out an apprentice for Darth Mutialatus. Several individuals volunteered, finding this idea an honor. Hedashield was particularly impressed by a small Twi'lek boy named Thomas Slovak, though she accepted the fact that the choice was entirely up to Mutialatus. She chose not to reveal this to him until the time was right. Hedashield also arranged a secret meeting with sixteen-year-old Cole. The following morning, Cole found her typing and eating in her private chamber, and the two spoke with each other. Discovery of a Pearian When she was twenty-eight years old, Xerin Hedashield learned that a Pearian had appeared on Coruscant. She learned that the Pearian, whose name was Kristen, was being accompanied by a Jedi Padawan named B'en'jamin Thorrn, and she sent Yaxa and fellow Grabber Marion to capture the children and bring them unharmed to the science tower to be questioned by Darth Mutialatus. Upon learning of their failure from Mutialatus via comlink, Hedashield ruthlessly arranged for their private execution by General Gore. Somehow, she acquired an exotic marble owned by Jedi Master Yoda and entrusted to a Jedi Knight. Owning the marble confirmed that Kristen and Thorrn were to follow the individual. Marble mystery Immediately after the Grabbers' deaths, Xerin Hedashield took off in her personal speeder to seek out Kristen and B'en'jamin Thorrn herself, believing that disclosing information whilst leaving out the essentials would earn their trust. She tracked them to an isolated field where they were hiding from the Third Order (albeit ignorant to what the Order was). Thorrn immediately showed her a vintage necklace made of Phrik, which she was glad to hear more about, but Kristen told her about the marble entrusted to them by Yoda. Thorrn developed an instant crush, while Kristen was wary of Hedashield (though she was currently suspicious of everyone). They arrived at Xerin's apartment, where Hedashield brought Thorrn upstairs with her, wishing to speak with them separately in order to give them information they would find incredibly useful whilst cleverly withholding the essentials. When they entered her bedroom, Hedashield changed into her bedclothes and offered Thorrn a snack, before questioning his knowledge of the prophecy of the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force. Hedashield also revealed that she knew how Kristen appeared in the Star Wars galaxy, something she claimed he did not yet need to know. Xerin then interrogated B'en, wanting to know about the Chosen One who was allegedly destined to bring balance to the Force. B'en, however, did not find this likely, though Xerin thought otherwise, she could find no backup to this claim, so she dropped the subject and they prepared to leave. B'en told her a joke about space slugs and in turn, she told him a joke about neebrays. They returned to the playplace and Xerin picked up Kristen, dropping B'en off. In her room, she realized that Kristen was incredibly curious, so Hedashield spoke to her fluently to explain everything she wanted to know in a levelheaded way. Kristen learned that a failed experiment of St. Pyro's Center for Militarized Sciences intending to learn how to travel outside the galaxy has resulted in her abduction. Hedashield pointed out that the leader of the laboratory beckoned her several times. She chided Kristen for not answering, who shrugged her off by asking what Pearians were. When Xerin claimed it was a great mystery, Kristen asked how to return to Earth. Xerin told her to seek out the mysterious and all-powerful Omnipotent One. Tracking the Pearian Intrigued by both of the children, Hedashield followed them downstairs and offered them the opportunity to spend the night with her. Both of them obliged. Thorrn seemed to bond with Hedashield during this time, and when daylight came, Hedashield allowed the children to borrow a speeder and gave them advice on how best to get offworld again. Thorrn begged Hedashield to come with them, catching her off guard by tenderly holding her hand, and while she acted touched by this, she let go of his hand and returned upstairs. Captain Cole came to visit her afterwards, and after two two-liter bottles of root beer and six small Gove candies, she told him to ensure the children got offworld and told him she intended to use Darth Mutialatus to lure them back to Der Erobelten. However, Cole's lack of interest raised her suspicions that he may be planning to betray her. Following this event, on Hedashield's orders the Third Order ambushed the children on several fronts, but they proved nearly impossible to capture, even by Mutialatus himself. Skirmish on Der Erebolten A couple days later, Darth Mutialatus spoke with Hedashield, and they agreed that two Grabbers would not be enough to try again. Concurrently, Mutialatus dispatched ten Grabbers to capture the children on Geonosis. Their mission was a success, but the children fought their way out of their bonds and through the fortress, impressing Hedashield, who was watching them via security camera, with their fighting prowess. Shortly afterwards, she was approached by Captain Cole, who had brought the two children to mask his disenchantment and plan to betray and murder her. Hedashield responded by projecting a shield between herself and her enemies. As if out of nowhere, Darth Mutialatus appeared and killed Captain Cole. Shocked and overcome by agonizing pain, Cole falls to the ground in front of Hedashield. Infuriated that Hedashield was not any less indifferent regarding Cole's unexpected demise, Thorrn challenged her to a duel. In response, Xerin reached under her pillow and grabbed a blaster concealed under it. Standing up, she prepared to incapacitate Thorrn, as the last thing she wanted was to kill him. Suddenly, Cole used his powers to teleport the children away from the apartment and to safety, Hedashield could only watch as they twisted out the window. As Cole's life ebbed away, Hedashield seethed with fury at the loss of two valuable assets to her plans as well as her Captain. Just then, General Gore arrived in the room. Hedashield quietly expressed her doubt that B'en'jamin Thorrn is the Chosen One. Disappointed in Mutialatus for failing to stop Cole or foresee the latter's intent, Hedashield resolved to punish him soundly when she was no longer exhausted and when the two were alone. Hedashield decided that soon, she would risk coming out of the shadows to lead the Third Order, which was now public knowledge, to victory. However, the knowledge that this meant she could hire more able soldiers without fear of exposure or disloyalty comforted her. She took this chance to tell the Dark Lord of her Holonet campaign to find him an apprentice. She arranged to work alongside Mutialatus, an extension of her plan to expose herself before the Dark forces. His back turned, Mutialatus claimed that the Third Order was ready to prove to the Jedi Order that they existed. Xerin contradicted him, assuring him that the time to expose their conquest is not far away at all. In spite of her disappointment at this turn of events, Hedashield hopefully awaited the day that Thorrn would be claimed. Aftermath With the Third Order struggling to keep their actions silent from the peering eyes of the Jedi Order, Xerin Hedashield ordered the initiation of several casualties. Many innocent lives were claimed and two planets were completely obliterated. The Conflict of the Numbers had officially begun. Fed up with the failures of her followers, Hedashield had finally grown tired of the lack of progress in her crusade and decided to take matters into her own hands. Hedashield also put her life on the line for a creature known only as "the Captain", unintentionally procuring his loyalty. The Captain ultimately replaced Captain Cole in the ranks of the Third Order. War had come to the galaxy. Appearances *''Across the Portal: Interference'' *''Across the Portal: Insurgence'' *''Across the Portal 3'' Category:Across the Portal events Category:Wars